Here are the commentary tracks featured on the season 3 DVD. It's great to see that Weiner comments on every episode as, for obvious reasons, he always provides the most insight into what went into the filming. Most surprising is the complete absence of January Jones; even though her past commentaries haven't been too insightful, she nonetheless is a lead on the show. And I can't wait the hear the episode 13 track that features Hamm, Slattery and Morse.

Episode 1: Out of Town
1. Commentary With Vincent Kartheiser, Aaron Staton, Bryan Batt and Rich Sommer
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner, Phil Abraham and David Carbonara

Episode 2: Love Among the Ruins
1. Commentary With Matthew Weiner, Elisabeth Moss, Jared Harris and Michael Gladis

Episode 3: My Old Kentucky Home
1. Commentary With Elisabeth Moss and Janie Bryant
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner and Dahvi Waller

Episode 4: The Arrangements
1. Commentary With Matthew Weiner, Kiernan Shipka and Ryan Cutrona

Episode 5: The Fog
1. Commentary With Matthew Weiner, Dan Bishop and Phil Abraham

Episode 6: Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency
1. Commentary With Christina Hendricks and Jared Harris
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner and Lesli Linka Glatter

Episode 7: Seven Twenty Three
1. Commentary With Andre and Maria Jacquemetton
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner, Robert Morse, Josh Weltman and Bob Levinson

Episode 8: Souvenir
1. Commentary With Matthew Weiner, Vincent Kartheiser and Lisa Albert

Episode 9: Wee Small Hours
1. Commentary With Jon Hamm, Bryan Batt and Chelcie Ross
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner and Scott Hornbacher

Episode 10: The Color Blue
1. Commentary With Elisabeth Moss, Michael Gladis and Jared Harris
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner and Mike Uppendahl

Episode 11: The Gypsy and the Hobo
1. Commentary With Christina Hendricks, John Slattery and Jennifer Getzinger
2. Commentary With Jon Hamm and Matthew Weiner

Episode 12: The Grown-Ups
1. Commentary With Vincent Kartheiser, Alison Brie and John Slattery
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner, Black McCormick and Brett Johnson

Episode 13: Shut the Door, Have a Seat
1. Commentary With Jon Hamm, Robert Morse and John Slattery
2. Commentary With Matthew Weiner and Erin Levy

Howdy there, Greg...glad to see your post, missed your insights.

Hope you're right about some of your musings, sometimes Matt takes until a subsequent season to tie up his loose ends....your ideas are fascinating.

Hi SC. Yeah I'm big on the carousel motif with MM going back to the Kodak pitch season 1 about how a child travels around and around etc (they also had a lot of visuals of globes season 3, maybe the same general idea of traveling around and around?) and I think the carousel idea is big regarding what goes on inside troubled Mr. Draper. I hope they say something about the visual of a carousel in this scene yay or nay because it'll bug me forever.

Hands down: The Hamm and Weiner commentary are the best. Throw Joan in for good measure too, and sometimes the random set designer.

However, the far my favorite commentary was Freddie's last episode, Six Month Leave, with Slattery and Joel Murray.

And yes, sorry to see Sal leave, but come on, Freddie was great too!

Carousel from season 1 still resonates with me. I remember when the actual product came out from Kodak…it was revolutionary. (Love, among many other things, "What do they show, slides of you working?").

And I keep seeing MM actors in their off-season popping up [e.g. most recently, Sam Page (Greg Harris) as Rex's son in Desperate Housewives, Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) as Wilson the fireman in Ugly Betty]. It's quite a tease waiting for season 4.

In the meantime, I'll watch season 3 again. I ordered a MM calendar from Borders last winter, but they were out of stock and never replenished. Would love to get one.

Hey Greg,

What great insight...always love reading what you have to say......

After reading this, I immediately thought of this quote by Don that may relate to what you are saying....

“I keep going to a lot of places, and keep ending up places I’ve already been.” Season 3 premiere

This, to me, is Don... He is on his own carousel...going round and round...and is not sure where to get off!

That's about as good a description of our thoroughly screwed up Mr. Draper as I've ever seen, jeffe.

He's so screwed up he doesn't even know how screwed up he is....or doesn't care.....

Yep -- the release month was on Bryan Batt's website.

Can hardly wait! YEEE HAAA!

Hi everyone!
I just got an email from Amazon...Season 3 is on the way!

Hello fellow Maddicts!
Me, too, 60s child...now can watch without the ads. I thought there would be a marathon of MM S3 but looks like it will be one episode at a time, ending about the middle of June. Then just a few more weeks and S4 should begin.

Just picked this up at best buy. I gotta say while Mad Men has always had cool dvd packaging this is by far my favorite. I've only seen the first 6 episodes of this season so i'm excited to dive into the rest of them!

I agree, Jeffe--good insights on your part, too--I like the carousel analogy, Greg.

What struck me as odd while watching that episode was his constant "fondling" of the grass next to him as he was watching the Maypole dance. I can't wait until my Season 3 set comes in--should be any day.

Hey, Chameleon, I just got a calendar from Amazon. It came very quickly.

I saw my first commercial for the summer season Sunday night--hope we don't have to wait until August this year!

I just got my Season 3 set in the mail! It's a marathon Mad Men night! Woo-hoo!

I too, am awaiting Season 3. Any day now! I thought the Maypole scene where Don is running his fingers through the grass had to do with the teacher not wearing shoes and it was his way of getting a "feeling" for her.
Also, thanks for the info Janice on the calendar from Amazon! Now I know where to look!

Hi fellow Maddicts!

I got Season 3 yesterday!
Did anyone get the artist sketch of the new Barbie Mad Men dolls coming out with the DVD set? Mine was of Betty as Barbie.
I'm waiting to get on the list for the Barbie collection!!! Now we need the rest of the characters, the Draper doll house, SC offices etc....God, I sound like I'm 10yrs old again!

You know Greg, I thought Peggy's roommate would get Peggy into some deeper, darker trouble in Season 3. I still think there is corporate espionage on the horizon, but I think that will come from Duck and not Peggy's roommate. I got my Season 3 DVD's as well 60's child, SCfan and Rozie. I think I bought it just because my parents had that exact set of high ball glasses when I was a kid. Cheers!

@60's child, Yes I got mine the other day as well and it was with the Betty Barbie. I'm not a collector of anything per se, (EXCEPT for the Mad Men series on dvd!) so I doubt I will get the Barbies, I DID, however, order my Mad Men calendar and received that today, so I am a happy Pammaddict!
And Drink&Smoke, as did MY parents!!! :) :)

And I've been waiting to see how Juanita Carson and Rachel Carson are related. Rachel Carson (Betty's friend from the riding stables) and Juanita Carson (Betty's former NY roommate who she ran into at the Savoy on Valentine's Day). Would the writers use the same last name for no reason at all?

I think Drink & Smoke is on the right track. Someone is a traitor. Not sure yet, but possibly Peggy (Duck as her Svengali) or Pete? I don't buy his "loyalty" to Don. He's still pissed about being passed over and trivialized.

It is fun to rewatch each episode and catch something that you missed. I remember rewatching the episode with Sally's birthday party when Don disappeard and returned later that night with a dog. It wasn't until (upon further review) I again watched the scene on the roof with Rachel that I understood. --a dog is all a girl will ever need, the only one she can trust, or who really loves her.

Anybody else have an "aha!" moment?

Hi TipsiM..Thank you for your great insight! That makes a lot of sense. We tend to forget that the wheels (carousel again) are always spinning in Don's head . At first glance, you think he is only getting drunk while building Sally's doll house, while the whole time he is thinking...always thinking.

Thanks for MY "aha" moment!!

Not really an "aha!" moment, but still I love it....

....when Betty and Francine (wearing curlers) are getting things ready for Sally's birthday party and Don goes into the bathroom (the "company" one) to wash up after putting her playhouse together, and doesn't know where to dry his hands.....he finally just wipes them on his shirt!

I love the many little funny Mad Men moments like that sprinkled all through various episodes.

Also, when Grandpa Gene brings out his "memories box" and Don looks up from his newspaper from the other room just as Gene takes out the helmet!...then looks back down in relief and back again as each "treasure" comes out of the box.

I agree that there are dirty doings a'brewing.....whether from Duck, Peggy's roommate, or some other backstabbers! Bring it on!

Is it July (I wish) or August yet?????

sigh.......

.........And, hidey Laurie B! I agree, I can't imagine Juanita and Rachel having the same last name for no reason at all.....

Hi Greg, just curious...your reactions second time around. Any new connections? The carousel?

Tipsi: Yeah I found episode 7, "723", a little more interesting after not watching the series for a while. It's also the episode with the eclipse.

I noticed this when in the commentaries MW mentioned something briefly about Don, then I had noticed it with Betty as well when I watched it again.

I didn't catch this the first time around because the way the episode is cut up and there was a commercial in there. But there's similar dialogue with both Don and Betty about the eclipse. You have Don and Carlton outside talking, with Carlton talking about how you're never supposed to stare into an eclipse. You also have Betty in her meeting with Henry, having Henry basically telling her the same thing when they're leaving.

With the school kids, parents and Suzanne outside, no one looks into the sun, they all have their little homemade devices. When Betty and Henry leave the bakery, 2 people are outside using another homemade thing to also see without actually looking into it.

However, Betty foolishly looks right up into it. Back with the school kids, after his chat with Suzanne, Don foolishly looks right up into it also. The only two who do so.

Think the whole thing was about a metaphor for temptation relating to what Don and Betty are each eventually going to do? Knowing you're not supposed to do something but you can't help yourself and do it anyway?

Of course, the charm of the forbidden fruit that makes it unspeakably desirable (or something like that). Which made me think...Don was a serial cheat, but with Henry, was it him or was it just his timing? Don's fingering the grass was sensual in a way, different.

Greg and all, let's hear more about S3.